Doncaster Rovers (U18s) 4-1 Burton Albion (U18s)

Doncaster Rovers (U18s) 4-1 Burton Albion (U18s)
Football League Youth Alliance
Saturday 31st August 2019

This was a comfortable win in the end for Doncaster Rovers' youth team thanks to a stunning second half performance which saw talisman Jack Watson bag all four goals.

Rovers controlled the game for large periods and had plenty of possession, yet at half-time there was cause for concern as Burton Albion led, somewhat fortuitously, and the lads had struggled to fashion many clear-cut opportunities to equalise.

Then, birthday boy Will McGowan and Lirak Hasani - both absolutely superb in the middle, began to pull the strings to brilliant effect and Watson grabbed a hat-trick in the space of eight minutes, prior to converting again late on to send Burton home empty handed.

Altogether, it means Rovers stay top of the FLYA (North East Division) table, unbeaten in their first five games and confidence will, quite rightly, be sky high.

With a return to league action following the win over Rotherham United in the FLYA Cup last time out, Under 18s boss Paul Stancliffe opted to shuffle his pack and go with a 4-3-3 formation; making two changes to the starting line-up. Midfielder Charlie Bell, who went off injured in the aforementioned cup win, was replaced by Hasani and frontman Evan Howard came into the line-up, replacing Max Jemson.

Both Luca Nelson and Josh Clemitson were named amongst the substitutes for the first time this season as well.

At kick-off, the weather was decent enough with sunshine in the skies above.

However, it was the visitors who made the brighter start and they opened the scoring with the first meaningful opportunity before the quarter-hour mark.

Rovers 'keeper Ben Bottomley will no doubt know he should have done much better as he spilled a near-post cross from the byline straight into the path of an attacker who was only to happy to turn the ball goalwards.

The Brewers looked decent enough in the early stages and, though they weren't able to get in-behind or create clear-cut openings, they did catch another glimpse of goal when a speculative low shot-on-the-turn from 25 yards drifted a few inches wide of the target.

Bottomley then gathered a long shot to restore some confidence but at the other end, whilst Rovers played their usual fluid, quick, passing game which is a pleasure to watch, on too many occasions in the first half, the 'killer ball' was lacking.

Twice Watson got in good positions inside the area but was unfortunate in the respect that the ball wouldn't fall kindly for him to allow for a shot. McGowan and Liam Ravenhill saw a few attempts drift high and wide, whilst Junior Smith was unlucky on another occasion.

Lewis Cunningham, ever-present at left-back so far this term, also over-hit a cross towards a crowded area around the midway point of the first period - which sort of summed up Rovers' frustrations as the ball drifted out of play for a goal-kick.

Nevertheless, the boys had begun to get on top, dictate play and were having more possession than their opponents from Staffordshire.

Eventually, two good chances came to pass before half-time as Smith was slipped through inside the area for a clear-cut opening, but his subsequent attempt was blocked by Burton's keeper at his near-post.

Then, just before half-time whistle, Rovers had a huge shout for a penalty turned down.

Watson slalomed his way into the box with some superb footwork in which he put three defenders on their backsides but with a sight of goal he couldn't just get a shot away in time. A few seconds later, he went to ground following a heavy challenge and though it seemed a blatant penalty from the sidelines, the referee - in a good position a few yards away, waved play on.

At half-time, three things were obvious; the big man (Evan Howard) needed to influence things much more, the final ball into the strikers had to better, but also, if the boys continued to keep possession, chances would eventually come.

Around 10 minutes after the re-start, not long after the skies had turned a gloomy-looking grey colour and there'd been a few spots of rain, Watson provided a shining light.

The talisman got possession on the outside edge of the area, around 20-25 yards out, looked up and hit a sumptuous strike which sailed into the top corner - one of those strikes that you could tell was destined for the top corner as soon as it left his foot.

McGowan's celebration told the story; raising arms aloft as if to say 'That is absolutely quality!'

Buoyed by being back on level terms, the lads continued to play on the front foot, get the ball down and play quite a bit through the middle in an effort to cause danger.

On the hour mark, things got even better for Rovers!

In another quality move, McGowan picked up possession out wide on the left channel, turned brilliantly to take three defenders out the game, and delivered a teasing ball towards the edge of the six-yard box where Watson stooped low to place a perfect header beyond the goalkeeper's dive and into the bottom-right corner.

The frustrations which Rovers harboured at times in the first half were now felt by Burton and a little over 60 seconds later, the game was over as a contest as Watson completed his hat-trick.

McGowan produced another piece of artistry - distributing a sublime long pass for his team-mate to chase. Yet again, Watson showed great technique as he opened up his body to receive the pass, got goal side and threaded another shot past the keeper and into the net.

At 3-1 up, the boys were now flying and it wasn't long before Nelson came on for Howard to support Watson on the front-line.

With a quarter of the game remaining, Rovers should have bagged a fourth goal in a counter-attack move which, with the Burton defence stretched wide apart, culminated when Smith saw a shot smothered from a tight angle. However, if the speedy attacker had looked up and not gone for goal himself, both Nelson and Watson were waiting in the middle for what would have been the simplest of tap-ins.

Burton did have a few spells of pressure 'here and there' and won the odd free-kick, but there was simply no way past Hasani, nor the centre-back pairing of captain Ben Blythe and Nathan Dimou just behind him.

Watson was outstanding though, and the 17-year-old soon netted again to make it 4-1 - and kill of any faint hopes which Burton may have had about launching a comeback. For this goal, Smith did well on the byline and this time cut the ball back for Watson to smash into the net from close-range.

Rovers were now in complete control and sought further goals. Watson, remarkably, would have had a fifth goal had his thunderbolt 30-yard strike not whistled just inches over, McGowan curled one over the top too, and Nelson was unlucky with a separate effort.

Burton clipped the post from a free-kick late on after Jemson, off the bench, was penalised for a foul in a dangerous position and in injury-time, Bottomley made a save from a long-range shot.

In reflection, Rovers were definitely worthy winners and overcame frustrations to get the job done and bag the points. When questions were put to them and they were 'up against it' having conceded early on, the boys showed that extra quality to reply with great effect.

Burton should count themselves unfortunate that they came up against such decent opposition as they had some tricky players. Had they been able to stifle play a bit more and not allowed Rovers to have much more possession, they may well have been able to take something back to the Pirelli Stadium to show for their efforts.

Individually, Jack Watson's four goals speaks for itself and he's clearly in his groove and on top form right now - so long may it continue! Even if he hadn't scored, his technique and movement at times today was brilliant and he's a handful for any defender in the FLYA.

Will McGowan and Lirak Hasani were like 'Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet' at times in terms of artistry, getting the team going, dictating play and there's so many positives to write home about for those two as well.

As mentioned already, defensively, Ben Blythe and Nathan Dimou have a seemingly solid partnership and they look comfortable and compliment each other well. Today, whilst they weren't tested quite as much as when Rotherham United rocked up in successive weeks, their understanding was clear to see.

Lewis Cunningham and Elliott Walker had relatively quiet games in the full-back positions as most of the attacks came through the middle. They've both established themselves as regulars over the past month and what they offer to the team has been better demonstrated in previous games.

Goalkeeper Ben Bottomley made an undoubted error for the opening goal and he'll be as thankful as anyone that the boys were able to turn things around and get the win. He should have held, or even punched the ball clear, but it didn't happen and it resulted in a goal. It's a mistake though, it happens, and I hope he doesn't dwell on it.

Junior Smith had an eye-catching display (of sorts) and what was noticeable was on a few occasions, he dropped back to help the team out - this from very early on in the game. His pace, as always, can cause problems and he got an assist. Occasionally, he can be indifferent/unpredictable and get caught offside too often, but he should have no qualms about his work this morning.

Liam Ravenhill was involved in quite a few moves going forward and what he probably needs more than anything is one of his attempts to fly in. It'll only boost his confidence when it does!

In the last of the starting xi was Evan Howard. A big tall frontman, he played in the middle of a three-pronged attack during his hour or so on the pitch yet he didn't impact things too much contrasted to Luca Nelson who came on for 25 minutes and run, worked and absolutely chased after everything.

Of the other substitutes, it was good to see Josh Clemitson get his first few minutes this year and he was involved in a few 'bits and pieces' and he'll no doubt get more game-time as the season progresses.

Max Jemson and Alek Wolny both enjoyed five-minute cameos, which wasn't really enough time to make a significant impact. Nevertheless, Jemson did earn himself a telling off from the referee after being penalised for a foul.

So, on the whole, a good result and the positives with this team far outweigh any negatives. They're five unbeaten, top of the table, scoring goals, playing well, have an 'identity' about their play - so you can't really ask for much more!

Team: Ben Bottomley, Lewis Cunningham, Ben Blythe (c), Nathan Dimou (Max Jemson), Elliott Walker (Josh Clemitson), Lirak Hasani, Will McGowan, Liam Ravenhill, Jack Watson, Evan Howard (Luca Nelson), Junior Smith (Alex Wolny). Unused Sub: Kian Johnson.